Camping with 32 kids in Nepal!

Can you imagine taking 32 children camping?  In Nepal??  With wheelchairs, walkers and crutches???  Well, we did just that several weeks ago in the scenic town of Dhulikhel, about 45 minutes outside Kathmandu!  

These 32 children are from DNC- Disabled Newlife Center.  They are children Gina and I have known for so many years.  Their physical disabilities are varied and challenging but their warmth and love is like a warm hug every time we visit.  Seeing them grow up is both meaningful and frustrating in that we are only able to visit them in-person once a year.  However, Nepal Rotary and Rotaract have made a lasting impact in their lives with both grant funding and ‘hands-on’ guidance and personal involvement.

Our Rotary volunteer group arrived at the park just slightly ahead of the rented bus that brought the kids and staff.  Our Sherpa helpers and Everest Express Travel staff  had already set up the tents and were busy cooking lunch for all.  We had such a nice group of Rotaract volunteers from the Rotaract Club of Kopundol and the Rotaract Club of Dhulikhel helping with games and logistics. 

As the children and staff piled off the bus our volunteer group immediately got busy helping, playing and doing whatever was needed.  No parks are disability-friendly in Nepal, but this park wasn’t too bad once you got the kids up the stairs onto the flat area on top.  The wheelchairs and walkers were able to negotiate the paths around the park but getting down the stairs to the bathroom required helped from adults, volunteers and staff.

We brought balls and games but what was an immediate ‘hit’ was the face painting set that Doug and Sonja Kyes (from Renton Rotary Club) brought and set up!  Doug is an artist by trade.  He set up his paints and within about 5 minutes there was a long line of kids awaiting his talented brushes.  He worked quickly and soon many children were parading around like living artwork!  Within a couple of hours, most of the children had something whimsical, fun or beautiful painted on their faces or arms.  After Doug got tired, 15 year-old DNC resident Puskar Magar took over and lent his substantial artistic talents to decorate the remaining children.  Puskar was born without a right hip and leg.  He is also missing two fingers on his right hand but he is a true artist in every sense of the word.  He typically paints in watercolor, but he also dabbles oils and other media.  He has been having great fun trying out different artists’ styles as he experiments and grows.  

After a delicious Sherpa-prepared Nepali lunch we started another project that Rotarian Donna Eggen had thought up: “sit-upon pillows”.   What you do is take two pieces of colorful fabric about 18 inches square, cut strips all around the outside, insert a piece of foam (for padding), then tie each top and bottom strip together in a double knot.  You work your way, tying knots all around the fabric and…..voila!  You have a nifty pillow that is both useful and a is great souvenir of the trip.  The Sherpa staff got busy cutting the foam and the kids all grabbed their fabric and began working.  This is a fun and easy project for any group of kids and it was a great success.

The Rotaractors managed to find a sound system so that we could play some Nepali dance music and then….everyone was dancing…kids in wheelchairs, walkers, young, old, volunteers and DNC staff!  The dancing lasted until dinnertime.  After dinner the sun began to set and the children got ready to head to their tents.  It was another emotional, yet inspirational day for our entire group.  Memories were created that none of us will ever forget, not the kids, not the volunteers and not the staff.

Special thanks go to my Rotarian mentor & friend- RR Pandey and his company, Everest Express Tours & Travel who arranged all of the logistics and transportation.  Our thanks go to Tapan (from Everest Express) and our hard-working and caring Sherpa staff who set up the tents and arranged for hot meals cooked on-site.  Also, special thanks to our TRIFC supporters whose generous donations funded this trip.

Some of the group right after arrival at the park.

Rotary USA/Nepal - Cerebral Palsy Project

Several weeks ago we participated in a wonderful ‘hands-on’ project with the staff and teachers from the Self Help Center for Children with Cerebral Palsy and many volunteers from our visiting group.   We had 10 Rotarians and TRIFC volunteers from the USA along with Rotarians from the RC Himalaya-Patan and 17 enthusiastic participants from the Rotaract Club of Kathmandu Mid-Town!  A Rotary matching grant recently provided specially designed tables and chairs for children and families associated with this center.  

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurological disorder that affects muscle tone, movement, and motor skills (the ability to move in a coordinated and purposeful way). Cerebral palsy can also lead to other health issues, including vision, hearing, and speech problems, and learning disabilities. The Rotary granted tables and chairs were designed and manufactured in Nepal and allow the parents of these children to have a safe and skeletally correct place for their child to sit at home.  Believe it or not, without these tables and chairs, parents who must work in the fields all day are sometimes forced to tie-up their children or dig a hole to put their children in so that they don’t hurt themselves.  These are not bad parents, they just have no other options… 

The children oftentimes have an intelligent mind that has been trapped inside an uncooperative body. One of the older boys – Bikash initially appeared uncommunicative and difficult to connect with.  But if you looked past that, sat down next to him and asked questions he could answer them all – in English!  It took some time and patience to wait for him to respond but he gave thoughtful, thorough answers.  I found out later that he was even able to type essays on the computer, laying down on the floor and tapping the keyboard with his feet….the more time I spend in Nepal with children with disability, the more I learn from them!

Thanks to Rain City Rotarian and all-around crafty person- Donna Eggen, we brought materials and supplies to do a fun project with the children – decorating hand-puppets!  After a brief walk through of the center and introduction of staff, teachers and children, Donna quickly instructed the volunteer group on what to do.   Then everyone grabbed their materials and began working one-to-one with a child.  This proved to be the perfect project for this group of children as it didn’t take to long to complete and allowed for more interaction time with the children.

TRIFC provided the funding for Rotaract transportation, logistical support and lunch for all.  Many tears were shed that day but they were tears of understanding, tears of empathy, tears of joy to have had that wonderful experience with those beautiful children.

Renton Rotarian Doug Kyes with a new friend!

Rob & Gina at RI Convention in Bangkok!

Sawadee kap (that is 'hello' in Thai by a person who is of male gender) from Bangkok!  

Gina and I are enjoying the RI convention along with 40,000 of our fellow Rotary/Rotaract friends from around the world!  What an amazing group of individuals (and couples) who share similar goals, ideals and purpose to positively impact their community and the world. 

We've already made many new Rotary friends from countries like Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal (of course), Germany, Thailand, Canada and different states from around the US!

The opening plenary session was fantastic.  It was so inspiring to see the flags of all of the countries where Rotary is present (178!!!).  Three new countries were just added including the newest addition - Bhutan.  25 Nepali Rotarians flew to Bhutan at the end of April for that chartering ceremony.

RI President Kalyan Banerjee gave an inspiring opening talk about where Rotary is now, and where it will be headed in the near future.  A new soon-to-launch website, new PR opportunities and new ways to connect Rotarians and clubs around the world.  The 'new' Rotary will allow us to take advantage of technology and social marketing to expand our impact.

The 'House of Friendship' showcases many of the projects and programs done by clubs and districts.  You can see the attached photo of Gina with a working prosthetic hand that one club and district distribute to those in need around the world....truly amazing!    Please make plans to attend next year's convention in Lisbon!  See you soon....

Yours in Rotary & TRIFC,

-Rob.

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Annual trip to Manakamana

The wish fulfilling temple Manakamana is always a welcome stop on our way to Pokhara. With our special guests: Sita, Jayanthi, Sunita, Namrata and sister, Charda, Renuka and Balram, the Kyes' sponsored deaf children Rushma and Roshan and our sponsored child, Basanta, the team went in cable cars to the top of the mountain and got some blessings and tika from the Hindu priest available for the day. Wishes sent up to the Goddess!

After a nice lunch and a stroll through the stores, we are all ready to head on to Pokhara!

Puppet making at SGCP

Polio Drops of Life!

Dear TRIFC & Rotary Friends,

We have had so many remarkable experiences on this trip it's difficult to pick one to write about! Eric Postle and Brittany Barker (and the other Rotarian volunteers from other clubs) have been super volunteers pitching in wherever needed.

The other day we took 32 children with disability camping overnight with tents, songs, games and plenty of music and dancing! I'll share more about that experience in another post but this time I wanted to share something very close to every Rotarians heart....giving the drops of life to insure that no child anywhere in the world need ever suffer from the crippling disease of polio.

Our group participated in Nepal's national polio immunization day and walked throughout the old town of Dhulikhel handing out leaflets and visiting two stations of volunteer women who were giving the drops and putting the 'purple-pinkie' die on each child's little finger to indicate they had received their immunization.

It was such a moving experience to actually participate in this annual event and to see how involved the local Rotarians and Rotaractors are in the campaign. Dhulikhel Rotary President Ashok Shrestha led the way with his Rotary/Rotaract team close behind! Eric, Brittany and I all gave the polio immunization drops to waiting children....it was so moving to look into these children's eyes and know that they will be safe from polio forever! That is a great feeling indeed and Rotary is the organization that is getting it done! Yours in Rotary,
-Rob.

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The Picnic Spot

The Group headed north to Dhulikel stopping first at Bhaktapur, the City of Devotees, the 2nd of the 3 palaces we were going to visit. It is the most preserved of the palace grounds and restoration has been going on for the last 4-5 years. I wish that the guardians of Kathmandu and Patan Durbar Square would undertake a similar project. We had a fun time looking at the temples and shopping for a few souvenirs plus lunch at the Nyatapola Restaurant right beside the Nyatapola Temple ( 5 story pagoda style temple build by the great Mala King).
This was only a precursor to the wonderful weekend we were going to have at Dhulikel.

The grand plan this year was to take all the children at DNC plus the college students camping on the grounds at Picnic Point, an open area in the heart of Dhulikel. Everest Tours was going to set up tents and prepare the meals to be served at a covered area nearby. Rotaractors were going to arrange for games and music to be piped in. As you know, our DNC parties are never ever complete without dancing!

Donna Eggan also had a special treat for the children! She cut out and brought with her fleece material cut up and ready for making “sit-upons” by knotting the cut up edges a ½ inch apart. We added a square  ¾ foam in between 2 pieces to add cushion and softness as well.  The entire pillow was 10” x 10” when done. This provided a nice interaction between the younger kids and the volunteers, especially when it got pretty hot to run around the park.

Another surprise fun treat was that Doug Kyes brought face paint and started adding beautiful face art on the children. Doug and Sonja Kyes are one of many sponsors and they were with the group that visited in 2008 and have been a loyal supporter all these years. They will get to spend some time with their sponsored kids, (they have 2) when they visit with us in Pokhara for 2 days.  There was such a long line of kids that petty soon Pushkar, DNC’s resident artist started face painting as well. The pictures tell the entire story.
But the best part is that the children had a blast and for the Volunteers, well … the day with the children hit the right spot!